Cooking Lessons the Hard Way

The Culprits

Next time you see these little bugers, proceed with caution. They only look harmless. The rest of the story. . .

What I didn't know while I was stir frying this meat with the above peppers, was that my mouth, lips, and hands would soon be on fire. I laughed last night as I read Joellen Armstrong's post on her experience with making salsa. She learned too the importance of using gloves when working with peppers. The irony of Joellen chopping in McMinnville while I was chopping in La Haucana, learning the same hard lesson. She, however, ran to google and found the remedy. Toothpaste cools pepper burns. Wish I had known. . . What was crazier is that while I was making dinner, our Mexican friend, Fernando was present and quickly cautioned me not to touch my face while chopping. I thought I hadn't but it was soon revealed that I had many times! My hands were still burning 24 hours later. I don't know what these little peppers are called but Fernando said they are of the hottest available. They added a nice flavor to my beef I must admit, without being overly potent. This cooking lesson I had to learn on my own, by trial. Today Loopay came over and I talked her into making salsa right in front of me. Yummy! I now have all the secret ingredients to Mexico's finest fresh salsa! We had been experimenting at home but nothing compared to this. The secret is lime juice and salt. I will post the recipe next time. I left my notebook at home and want to give you the name of the right pepper to use.

Oh, and what is that funny tube thing around my neck? It is a balloon that has been filled with water. Madeline learned the trick of how to keep her mom cool in Mexico. She keeps two in the fridge at all times, one to cool, one to refrigerate while the other is in use. I often wear them in the afternoons, especially while I cook. Isn't Maddy clever?